How long is long enough to keep a promise? Caught in a trap from the deep time of history, the dragon had vowed to protect the book’s author. Yet in the 21st century, what relevance does this ancient manuscript have? Fitz hides the Codex in his attic and tries to forget. But the world will not let him…
***
But at least the King it seemed had forgotten his discontent with me and my uncomfortable visions… Alfred was so bored and restless he would have paid someone to interrupt him.
The Winchester Codex
“ℳ𝒶𝓎𝒷𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓈𝒽𝑒𝒹. 𝒪𝓇 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓌𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒.”
This book became a new all time favorite of mine, I am obsessed with it and so sad that I finished it… But wow, I devoured this novel!
Nelli, NetGalley Reviewer
Review from Kim@Travelling in Books (Reprinted with permission).
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Full Text:
Fitz is not quite the last dragon left in the world, but he certainly feels as though time has left him behind. Though the rest of the world is intent on imagining dragons as violent creatures who want to do nothing but burn things down and destroy villages, Fitz really wants nothing more than to be left alone in his cottage in Wales, where he is happy with his garden, his bees, and his baking. But Fitz has something else in his cottage- a millennia-old book containing ancient wisdom that many would kill to obtain. When his old friend Perceval comes to Fitz to ask for his help on one last quest, Fitz must finally stir from his comfortable life and face the fact that his past is not ready to let go of him. When the questing pair makes friends with a teenager on the run, their adventure takes on a twenty-first-century flair when the teen, Anna, suggests they document their walk along the Welsh coast on social media. They gain thousands of followers, but not everyone is there to cheer them on. There are people who know what book Fitz has, and will do anything to take it and its wisdom for themselves.
Grim and gritty fantasy novels have been all the rage for quite some time, and it can be difficult to find a fantasy novel that is straight-up fun and charming. Fortunately, we are starting to see more books where earnestness and friendship are features and not flaws- cozy fantasies where the characters get along with each other, do their best to make amends after arguments, and are perfectly happy to sit down in a soft chair with a cup of tea and a pastry and tell stories around the fire.
The Winchester Codex is just such a book. Fitz and Perceval are perfectly charming characters with a long history of adventures and misadventures behind them. Though they haven’t seen each other for a long time, they pick up right where they left off, and it doesn’t take much convincing for Perceval to get Fitz out of his comfortable cottage and into the wild blue yonder. Their banter is always amusing- especially with they meet up with Anna and end up dealing with social media. They’re already outsiders in time, and seeing a dragon and a knight trying to fathom something like Instagram is especially amusing.
Though most of the book is devoted to Fitz, Perceval, and Anna’s quest in modern Wales, there is a historical interlude involving Alfred the Great and his fight to save his kingdom from the oncoming Viking armies. Here, the historical details are pretty much spot on and provide insights into English history (albeit, an alternate history with dragons) and into Fitz and Perceval’s background. This, too, has plenty of charm, and is worth the diversion from the main story.
If you’re looking for a fantasy novel featuring a band of unlikely friends going on an adventure together combined with humor and self-reflection, The Winchester Codex is an excellent book to start with.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with both an eBook and a physical copy of the book.
***
Links to Purchase
Troubador
Amazon